The initial purpose of the settlement was to provide a rest stop and supply station for trading vessels making the long journey from Europe, around the cape of southern Africa and India.

Cape Town was founded by the Dutch East India Company.

1725

British settle in South Africa

﻿Initially, the British intended to protect trade routes to the East, through imperializing South Africa. However, they soon realized the potential to develop the Cape for their own needs.﻿

1806

British defeat the Dutch

﻿The British invade the Cape Colony (located in Cape Town) during their war with France. They came to fight with the Dutch over land. After acquiring the land, the British give it back to the Dutch in 1803, after the Treaty of Amiens was signed between the British and the French. In 1806, war broke out again between France and Britain, so again, the British invaded the Cape Colony and defeated the Dutch, because they feared that the French could take over Cape Town.﻿

﻿1867

﻿British embark on a mineral exploration

The British discover diamonds about 500 miles away from Cape Town. This discovery attracted about 50,000 people from all over the world to work on the mines and dig for minerals. A 16 year old boy named Cecil Rhodes controlled most of the diamond mines through his De Beers Consolidated Company.

﻿1886

﻿South Africa

'Gold-Rush'

This was the second major mineral find in South Africa. Although this find wasn’t as rich as gold finds in Canada and Australia, its consistency made it especially well suited to industrial mining methods.

﻿1886

South Africa

Mineral Discovery

Both mining regions faced the same problem with labor, how to find enough workers and how to keep their cost low. Local governments passed laws for mining companies that limited the right of black Africans to own mining claims or to trade their products. Whites got the skilled jobs or positions as labor foremen, while black Africans were relegated to perform manual labor. In addition, black workers were forbidden by law from living wherever they wanted, and instead were forced to stay in segregated neighborhoods or mining compounds.

﻿﻿﻿﻿1950

The Population Registration Act made apartheid a law﻿﻿﻿﻿

Laws were passed to establish the apartheid structure of government...

Race Classification Act: every citizen suspected of not being European was classified according to race

Mixed Marriages Act: prohibited marriage between people of different races

Group Areas Act: forced people of certain races into living in designated areas

﻿1945-1968

South Africa gaining independence from Britain﻿

At first, the transfer of power to an African majority from a white settler minority seemed complicated and unlikely. From 1945-1958, the first phase of decolonization, white power seemed to be consolidated. The second stage, a peaceful achievement by 1968 of independence by territories under direct British rule. Although most of the power was handed to the black Africans, the British still controlled the economies of their territory.

1994

South Africa becomes a free country

The black majority took power into democratic elections. A new constitution (which enfranchised blacks and other racial groups) took effect, and elections that year led to a coalition government with a nonwhite majority, marking the official end of the apartheid system.

How have the changes made through imperialism impacted South Africa?

By the end of the 20th century, South Africa has become the dominant economic power. The beginning of the 21st century created unity among regions in South Africa. Despite the spread of democracy, however, violence, inequality, and poverty continued.

Both the Dutch and the British obtained South Africa’s raw materials and used them for their own country’s benefit, making South Africa and its people the foundation and producers of European economies.

Thesis...

Works Cited

"British South Africa Company." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2016. Web. 13 May 2016.